FM Systems and Remote Microphones: What They Do and Don't Fix

By Laura Lurns · Reviewed by Philip Weaver · Last reviewed 2026-10-22

What a remote microphone system is

A remote microphone system makes the adult's voice louder than the noise around it. Older reports call these personal FM systems.

The studies on this page are about auditory processing disorder. A British audiology body describes auditory processing disorder as listening trouble with normal hearing (British Society of Audiology, 2018). Auditory processing disorder is sometimes called central auditory processing disorder. We cannot tell you whether your child has auditory processing disorder.

What the trial found

One small trial gave remote microphones to 26 children with auditory processing disorder, aged 7 to 12, for six months (Stavrinos and colleagues, 2020). Children were assigned to groups at random. Their own ratings of their classroom listening got better. They gave those ratings about listening with the device. That is what the device is for.

Their listening-in-noise and attention tests, done without the device, did not change. The device did no harm to those skills. We could read only the trial's summary. It is one small trial.

What a remote microphone does not fix

What a remote microphone is for: hearing the teacher better while it is worn. What the trial did not show: better listening when it is taken off, or better attention. We hold no study that shows it improves reading.

The older study

An older study followed children with auditory processing disorder using these devices for a school year (Johnston and colleagues, 2009). Its authors report gains. But it compared them with children who did not have auditory processing disorder. So it cannot tell the device apart from a year of school. We could read only its summary.

What the guideline advises

A US audiology body wrote a guideline on auditory processing disorder (American Academy of Audiology, 2010). It says these systems may suit some children, depending on which tests showed trouble. The guideline pairs them with clear speech: slower talk, key words stressed, and more pauses. It says everyone who uses the system, parents too, should be shown how. It is a 2010 guideline.

The same guideline notes advice against routine loudspeakers for a whole small classroom, because they raise the overall noise. That advice comes from the Acoustical Society of America.

What we hold, and what we do not

We hold no review of remote microphones for children with auditory processing disorder. The trial above is one small study.

In one review of adult studies, remote microphones had the most evidence of the help reviewed (Crum and colleagues, 2024). That was in adults, and the review was small. We could read only its summary.

Nothing in these studies tests Learning Success.

How to ask about one

A US audiology body says audiologists should diagnose auditory processing disorder (American Academy of Audiology, 2010). It says checklists and single tests are not a full assessment.

In our view, ask the audiologist whether a remote microphone fits your child. Then talk with the teacher about how it would be used in class.

Ask your child's doctor whether hearing has been checked recently.

If your child has lost a skill

Some children could do something and now cannot. That is different from a child who has not built the skill yet. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.

When to ask for help

Each of these is a reason to ask for help on its own.

• Little change, even with steady practice and good teaching.
• Schoolwork well below what school expects.
• A teacher who raises a concern about learning.
• Extreme upset about schoolwork.
• Complete avoidance of school or learning.
• Hopelessness about learning.
• Sadness or worry that lasts.
• Significant delays in speech, language or motor development.
• A skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.

If no skill has gone, start with the teacher. Say what you are seeing at home, and what you have tried. Beyond the teacher, the right person depends on what it turns out to be about. If the work is too hard, someone who works on that school skill. If worry or mood is the thing, someone who works with children's mental health. In our view, delays in speech, language or movement are worth raising with your child's doctor. In our view, if you are worried enough to ask, a professional evaluation is worth asking about.

Any talk of hurting themselves is a same-day call to your doctor or a crisis line.